CATS MAKE A MOCKERY OF 'MATCH OF ROUND' BILLING
Justin Kremmer 4 April 2008

By Justin Kremmer Geelong stole the show last Sunday with a scintillating 99-point stunning win against the Dons, a home game for the regional team being played in the city, at the Telstra Dome. The Cats exercised their fast paced, play-on action game plan, the one that won them a flag little over 6 months ago. They used their footy brains, the pussy Cats, to outsmart their opponents, who were simply not up to the ball speed or skill level. Was somewhat afraid going to the Dome on Sunday. Mid-way through Quarter One I was asking myself "Why?"

Link: 2008 SEASON DRAW GEELONG DRAW [HTML]

GEELONG 4.4 (28) 11.9 (75) 17.13 (115) 21.18 (150)
ESSENDON 1.2 (8) 3.6 (24) 4.10 (34) 6.15 (51)

GOALS
GEELONG: Gamble 3, Corey 2, Ablett 2, Bartel 2, Mooney 2, Stokes 2, Johnson, Blake, Enright, Wojcinski, Ling, Selwood, Kelly
ESSENDON: Houli, Davey, Stanton, McPhee, Hille

BEST
GEELONG: Ablett, Bartel, Stokes, Johnson, Corey, Blake, Scarlett, Harley
ESSENDON: Ryder, Houli, Stanton, Dyson

UMPIRES: Chris Donlon, Hayden Kennedy, Ray Chamberlain

CROWD: 50,636

Gary Ablett was once again outstanding showing that last season’s step up to a quality midfielder, which won him the award for the league’s MVP, is a title that will stay for good. Jimmy Bartel played as Brownlow medallists often do in the midfield but also starring as he moved forward, showcasing his talent for overhead marking, a rare ability for midfielders, and accuracy for setshots at goal could make him a great forward in years to come. Joel Corey, who, like Bartel, Ling and Ablett, is a fine mark with a textbook goalkicking technique, will have my money on the 50-dollar odds he has to win the Charlie. Sure, he has competition at the club, but he is Ablett's and Bartel's greatest threat. Corey is worthy of smaller odds. He is a star player and was one of hardest working midfielders on Sunday.

The Bomber fans knew where this match was heading early on. But credit to their players, they didn’t throw it in, but were guilty of being spectators at times. Who could blame them? Geelong are the greatest side going around and are not getting one bit worse. Passages of play saw the Bombers unable to influence, so as they may, watched on in awe as the Cats delivered pin-point passes at blistering pace and intensity. Essendon players such as McPhee, Laycock, Watson and Jason Johnson copped most of the criticism from their own supporters when they would look like dills for turning the ball over, simply being outclassed by Geelong. The Dons supporters have seen these same guys win matches and knew deep down that the Cats were just at another level. And really, these were the few who tried hard all day. Matthew Lloyd had a shocker scoring zip goals for the first time ever at The Dome, probably because no midfielder could get it to him but its a feat the Cats' defenders will take any day.

The Cat defence had the make-up of an unstoppable army going to war, ironically against the low-flying Bombers. No one could pass Josh Hunt at full flight, and maybe no one dared as he punched, spoiled and even torpedoed a classic at the first break. Good on him! Geelong’s spine weren’t the only winners over their opponents. Midfielder Joel Selwood in his second year is a veteran and skipper in waiting. Class, skill and cool under pressure are his trademarks the Dons should try and learn. Harry Taylor was promising, while Ryan Gamble proved he’s a keeper from the VFL and a long-term stayer.

Bursting with flare and youth, he was our only player to kick three, and it was a 99-point thrashing which highlights our unselfish forwards led by the big Hairy Cat and Stevie J. It was every single position on the field where Geelong were the day winners, except probably Tommy Hawkins but he was no disgrace taking a couple of big grabs and leading hard. Hawkins is still in a learning phase - mind you, he’s being taught faster than he could possibly imagine by the best teachers in the comp.

Key position players take time – we can’t expect to be spoilt with a full forward Selwood. But the Tomahawk has shown a lot of promise and is coming along nicely. His hard work from pre-season will start to show soon and Geelong won’t back down on him if it doesn't. They will no doubt take him to the top with them. This week against the Dees is a chance to experiment with a number of youngsters if we need to as Geelong may need to rely heavily on them if there are big name injuries later in the season.